Deregulation Bill will help to get lost paths on the map
The Deregulation Bill, which is due for second reading in the House of Commons on Monday 3 February, will help to speed up claims for historic rights of way in England. The bill follows the recommendations in Stepping Forward, the report produced in 2010 by Natural England’s stakeholder working group on unrecorded highways. The group…
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We back coastal access for the Isle of Wight
We have again called on the environment minister to include the Isle of Wight in the coastal-access provisions of Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs consulted on this in July 2012 and then, despite the overwhelming support for the order, resolved not to proceed. Now it has…
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Horsted Keynes footpath is saved
A popular footpath at Horsted Keynes, four miles north-east of Haywards Heath in West Sussex, has been saved on its existing route. West Sussex County Council backed the landowner, Miss Wykeham-Martin, in her application to move the footpath, number 8/1, which runs across three fields at Lucas Farm to the edge of two of them.…
Read MoreMendip Council rejects solar farm in Somerset beauty-spot
Mendip Council has refused permission for a solar farm at Kilmersdon, near Radstock in Somerset. The Pegasus Group wanted to erect about 25,000 solar panels on 35 acres of fields at New Tyning Farm, for 25 years. We backed our member the Jack and Jill Hill Preservation Society in opposing the scheme. The society was…
Read MoreWe urge Welsh environmental body to champion common land
We have urged Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to champion common land and to oppose government plans to weaken the law protecting village greens. The society has responded to NRW’s consultation, Planning our Future. We are concerned that nowhere in the document is there a mention of common land and its crucial role in securing a…
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Last chance to save Dorset village green
We are supporting our member the Society for the Protection of Markham and Little Francis at a hearing in the Supreme Court on Wednesday (15 January 2014). The local society will seek to persuade the court to uphold the registration of the village green on the outskirts of Weymouth, Dorset. This is the last chance…
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DEFRA publishes guidance on authorizing structures
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published its guidance to local authorities on authorizing structures such as stiles and gates on rights of way, and their obligations under the Equality Act 2010. (Click to read) This is the product of a working party on which the society was represented by Chris Beney.
Read MoreMisleading articles about homeowners and ramblers: we put things straight
The society has criticised as muddled, misleading and inaccurate the stories which appeared in the national press on 2 January, with the headlines ‘Homeowners win right to bar ramblers from land’ (The Times) and ‘Homeowners’ victory in battle with ramblers’ (The Telegraph). The stories suggest that, under the proposed Deregulation Bill, landowners will have a…
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Landmark judgment on highway obstruction
A High Court judge has ruled that gates erected across Barcroft Lane by Mr Brian Herrick, owner of the £3.8-million Barcroft Hall at South Petherton in Somerset, are unlawful. They must now be removed. On 17 February Mr Justice Cranston handed down his judgment in Herrick v Kidner and Somerset County Council, which is the…
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Eightieth anniversary of milestone law for walkers and riders
The legal rule that a path becomes a right of way after 20 years’ unhindered public use is 80 years old today (1 January). The Rights of Way Act 1932 came into effect on 1 January 1934 and applied throughout England and Wales. We celebrate the eightieth anniversary of this milestone act of parliament for…
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